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West Virginia · Weigh your options

Can the lender come after you for the rest? Deficiency judgments in West Virginia

Yes, a West Virginia lender can sue you for the shortfall if the trustee's sale brings less than you owe. In that lawsuit, you cannot defend by arguing the home sold for less than its fair market value, as long as the sale followed the trustee sale law. West Virginia does not set a special short deadline for a deficiency suit, so the general time limits for notes and written contracts apply.

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Reviewed against West Virginia law and official sources on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Deficiency rules in West Virginia, point by point

  • The trustee applies the sale money first

    Right after the sale

    The trustee pays the costs of the sale, including a commission of 5 percent on the first $300 and 2 percent on the rest, then the debts secured by the deed of trust, and pays any surplus to you. If the money runs out before your loan is paid, the rest is the deficiency.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(a)

  • A deficiency lawsuit is allowed

    After a nonjudicial sale

    The lender can file a civil action for the deficiency against the borrower and anyone else who signed for the debt, such as a co-maker or guarantor. We did not find a West Virginia law that bars a deficiency on a home loan.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b)

  • No fair market value defense

    In the deficiency lawsuit

    A borrower, co-signer or guarantor may not argue that the fair market value was not obtained at a sale conducted under the trustee sale article. Other defenses, such as a defect in how the sale was carried out, are not barred by this rule.

    W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b)

  • Time limits on a lawsuit

    Generally 5 or 10 years

    West Virginia sets a five-year limit for suits on a promissory note, counted from the due date or the date the loan was accelerated, and a ten-year limit for signed written contracts. Which applies to your case is a question for a lawyer.

    W. Va. Code §§ 46-3-118(a), 55-2-6

  • Short sale or deed in lieu

    Before you sign

    We did not find a West Virginia statute with deficiency rules for a short sale or deed in lieu, so the written agreement controls. Ask the lender to state in writing that it waives any remaining balance.

  • How long a judgment lasts and wage limits

    10 years from the judgment

    Execution on a judgment may be issued within 10 years, and new executions can keep it alive. A creditor can seek a suggestee execution on wages of up to 20 percent, but your weekly pay cannot be cut below 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

    W. Va. Code §§ 38-3-18(a), 38-5A-3(a)

The short answer in West Virginia

Can the lender come after me for the rest?

Deficiency judgments allowed

The lender can sue you for the shortfall if the sale brings less than you owe. In that lawsuit you cannot defend by arguing that the home sold for less than its fair market value, as long as the sale followed the trustee sale law.

W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b)

Common questions in West Virginia

How much of my wages can be taken for a West Virginia deficiency judgment?

Under W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3, a suggestee execution on wages can take up to 20 percent of your pay after taxes, and the payments cannot reduce your weekly pay below 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage.

Can my co-signer be sued for the shortfall after a West Virginia foreclosure?

Yes. W. Va. Code § 38-1-7(b) names the borrower, any maker, co-maker, guarantor, surety or other accommodation party as people who may be defendants in a deficiency suit. The same rule bars all of them from defending only on the ground that the sale price was below fair market value.

I was served with a West Virginia deficiency lawsuit. What should I do first?

File an answer by the deadline on the summons, or the lender may get a default judgment. Ask for the trustee's account of the sale and check the costs and how the money was applied. Call Mountain State Justice (304-344-3144) or a private lawyer to ask about defenses.

Step by step

More on foreclosure in West Virginia

Understand the process

What is happening and how much time there is.

Weigh your options

What can stop it, and what happens if it goes ahead.

Get help now

Who to call, and what to do when a sale is scheduled.

Also in West Virginia

Property tax foreclosure Claim surplus funds Deficiency judgments (this page)Letters you may get

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Sources for this page

  1. W. Va. Code § 55-2-6 (limits on contract actions)
  2. W. Va. Code § 46-3-118 (limit on actions on notes)
  3. W. Va. Code § 38-3-18 (enforcement of judgments)
  4. W. Va. Code § 38-5A-3 (suggestee execution on wages)
  5. W. Va. Code § 38-1-3 (sales under trust deeds)
  6. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4 (notice of sale)
  7. W. Va. Code § 38-1-4a (statute of limitations for sales by trustees)
  8. W. Va. Code § 38-1-7 (application of proceeds; action to recover a deficiency)
  9. W. Va. Code § 46A-2-106 (notice of consumer's right to cure default)
  10. W. Va. Code § 59-3-2 (legal advertisements; frequency of publication)
  11. WVHDF news release: WV Homeowners Rescue Program closed to new applications
  12. Legal Aid of West Virginia: Foreclosure podcast
  13. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8 (return of account of sale)
  14. W. Va. Code § 38-1-8a (trustee's report of sale disclosure form)
  15. W. Va. Code § 38-1-16 (sale under deed of trust; preexisting tenancy)
  16. W. Va. Code § 46A-1-102 (definitions; consumer loan)
  17. W. Va. Code § 55-3-1 (unlawful entry and detainer)
  18. W. Va. Code § 55-3-3 (return day and service of summons)